Jacquard hammer



y '25, 1939. H. v. FOSTER 2.167.041

JAYGQUARD- HAHIIER Filed April 18, 1 938 C) It Inventor v Herbert V. Foster 5o a so Attorney Patented July 25, 1939 :PATENT o FicE JACQUARD HAMMER sachusetts Application April 18, 1938, :Serial .No. 202,693

8 Claims. (Cl.,139 329) This invention relates .to improvements in .jacquards and it is the. general. object of .the invention to .improve the mounting for the cylinder placing hammerof a jacquard.

.Jacquard cylinders are mounted to be reciprocated towardand :from the needle board for presenting cardsto-the board. Witheach reciprocation thereis a. partial rotationof the cylinder to present a new card and the cylinder must be held in correctpositionto effectalignment of the needles with perforations in the cards. It is commonpractice to provide the end of the cylinder with a plurality of pins to cooperate with a hammer which yields during the first part of the cylinder rotation and thenacts upon the pins to complete rotation ofthewcylinder and also hold it in proper angular position.

In jacquards as heretofore constructed the hammer has a square shank from which extends a cylindrical stem, .the shank passing through a square guide bearingbroached in a bearing arm and the stem has passed through .a cylinder bearing bored in the arm in axial alignment with the square bearing. The compression spring is located between the shank and the cylindrical bearing. Because of the nature of the bearing it has been necessary heretofore-to remove the cylinder before the hammer could be taken from its bearing for the purpose of renewing or adjusting the compression spring. It is an important object of my present invention to provide a threaded bearing for the hammer stem which shall be adjustable in the bearing arm to vary the force exerted by the compression spring.

The breaching of the square bearing isan expensive operation and it is another object of my present invention to provide a square bearing one side of which is defined by a removable cap along which the shank slides when the cylinder is turning.

It is a further object of my present invention so to relate the sides of the square bearing to the bore of the threaded bearing that when the latter is removed the tapped bore into which it fits will permit suflicient angulardisplacement of the hammer so that the square shank thereof can be completely removed from the square bearing, after which the hammer stem can be moved out of the tapped bore and the hammer removed for renewal of the head thereof or replacement of the compression spring. This operation is carried out without disturbing the cylinder. This feature of my invention combines the adjustability of the spring and the improvement in the squareslide bearing-in such a way as to-allowthe hammer to be'removedby a process simplerthan that heretofore possible.

. Withthese and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in'the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, whereinaconvenient embodiment ofmy invention is set forth,

-Fig. l is a front elevation of a portion of the jacquardhaving my invention applied thereto,

'Fig. 2 is a verticalsection online 2-2 of .Fig. 1,

:Fig. 3'is a view similarto the upper part of Fig. 1 buttaken from the rear and in the direction of arrow3, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a detailed horizontal section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view setting forth the manner in which the hammer is removed from the jacquard.

Referring to Fig. 1, the jacquard :frame HI is provided with .a pair of sliding rods 1 I one of which is shown in Fig. 1, reciprocated in the frame by well-known mechanism not shown. This rod extends into a hub I 2 formedon acasting or bracket 13 the central portion of which may.

be formed with an opening l4 .below which extends an arm I5 and above which extends a bearing arm 16. The jacquard cylinder 20 has -a shaft 2| which projectsthrough the opening l4 andis received by a bearing 22 located in the opening l4 and having an arm 23 extending upwardly therefrom to be held in vertically adjusted position by bolt 24 on the arm :26. An offset 25 of the arm .23receives the lower end of an adjusting screw 26 the upper part of which is ada justable with respect to the arm l6. Vertical adjustment of the cylinder is effected by loosening bolt 24 and turning screw 26 until the bearing 22 is in the desired position, after which bolt is tightened. The arm 16 has projecting lat- .erally therefrom an upper stem shelf .2! and a lower shank guide 28.

The cylinder is provided in the-presentinStance withfour positioning pins 30 which .receivethe :pressure of :a wear block3l carriedbythe head 32 of the :hammer designated generally at H. "Extending upwardly from the-head is a square shank 33fromwhich projects acylindrical stem 3 3. A compression spring .35 surrounds the stem -andexerts a downward pressureon the shank which acts through the block .:3! :toposition the cylinder angularly .whenthe same is moving to .therightasviewed. in Fig. 1 togive an indication for..the next warpished to be formed.

The parts-thus far described maybe. of. the usual 2 construction, the cylinder being reciprocated in well-known manner and being turned by mechanism not shown but well understoodto cause an upward motion of the hammer with attendant compression of spring 35 to be followed by a downward force acting on the pins 38 to hold the cylinder in its new angular position. The hammer and its component parts may if desired be modifled for adaptation to the improved guide bearing forming important parts of my present invention, but the hammer will operate and be con-' structed substantially in accordance withprior practice.

I In carrying my present invention into efiect I provide a threaded bearing or plug 45 having a cylindrical bore 46 in which the upper end of the stem 34 slides. The plug is threaded as at 41 to be received by a tapped hole 48 in the shelf 21. A lock nut 49 holds the plug in adjusted vertical position with respect to the shelf 21. The lower end of the plug engages the top of spring 35, and by varying the position of the plug the pressure exerted by the spring 35 on the stem. 33 can be altered.

. The shank guide 28 is provided with a'substantially square slide bearing 55 three sides of which are cut into the guide 28. The fourth side of the bearing is defined by a sheet metal cap 56 held in position by cap screws '1 tapped into the guide 28, as shown in Fig. 4. The cap 56 is removable to expose one side of the slide bearing 55, thereby permitting the shank 33 to be moved in a di-. rection toward the center of the jacquard cylinder, or to the "right as viewed in Fig. 4.

During operation of the loom rotation of the cylinder will cause an upward thrust of the spring against the plug and the cap 55 will serve to guide the right side of the shank 33 as viewed in Figs. 2 and 4. When variation in pressure of the spring is desired the position of the threaded bearin or plug may be changed as desired.

An important feature of my invention relates to the removability of the hammer while the cylinder is in position as illustrated in Fig. 5. When it becomes necessary to adjust the spring in ways not possible by means of the plug or to renew it, or for any other reason, the lock nut 49 is loosened and the plug turned upwardly in the shelf 21 until it is entirely removed from the arm 16. The cap 56 is then removed by loosening the cap screws 51. This leaves the upper part of stem 34 passing through the tapped hole 48 butthe stem has a smaller diameter than has the tapped hole and it is because of this .fact that the hammer can be swung outwardly 'to the position indicated at 80 in dotted lines in Fig. 5 with the shank 33 entirely outside the bearing 55. The

lower part of the hammer can then be moved to the right along the cylinder 28 until the upper part of the stem passes out of the lower part of the tapped hole 48. The spring can then be removed, and when the repair is completed, such a renewal of the spring, the upper part of the stem is passed up through the hole 48 and the lower end of the hammer moved to the left until the shank fits into the bore 55, after which the cap 56 can be replaced to the position shown in Fig. 4. The plug 45 may then be slid over the top of the stem and threaded into the tapped hole 48 to a position where the pressure exerted by the spring 35 is correct, after which the lock nut 49 is tightened. It will be observed that this operation of removing the hammer and replacing it is effected without disturbing the cylinder 20.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a jacquard with a hammer the spring of which can be adjusted by means of a plug movable to adjusted positions along the axis of the hanm'ier stem. It will also be seen that the improved bearing 55 for the hammer shank is provided with a cap to permit a simpler manufacture of the square bearing. Furthermore. it will be seen that the threaded hole 48, the dimensions of the square bore 55, and the distance between the shelves 21 and 28 are such that removal of the plug 45 and cap 56 enables the operator to take the hammer out of the jacquard without disturbing the cylinder 20. It will thus be seen that the improvement in the guides for both the upper and lower parts of the hammer is attended with a further advantage which reduces the time heretofore required for the removal of the hammer,.the saving in time growing out of the fact that it is not necessary to remove the cylinder 20.

Havingthus described my invention itwill be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not Wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a jacquard having a rotatable cylinder, a

hammer to position the cylinder, a support for the hammer, a compression spring surrounding a portion of the hammer and exerting a pressure on said hammer tending to move the same toward the cylinder, and means threaded in the support and surrounding a portion of the hammer and movable longitudinally of the hammer relatively to the support to diiferent positions with respect- 3 to the support to vary the pressure exerted by the spring on the hammer.

2. In a jacquard having a rotatable cylinder, a hammer having a stem, a support in which the hammer slides toward and from the cylinder, a.

compression spring surrounding the stem and engaging a part of the hammer to move the same toward the cylinder, and a stem guide threaded in the support and surrounding the stem and having sliding engagement therewith, said stem.

guide movable longitudinally of the stem relatively to the support to a plurality of positions with respect to the support in the direction of the length of the stem and in engagement with the spring to vary the pressure exerted by the latter on the.

hammer.

3. In a jacquard, a rotatable cylinder, 2. yieldable hammer to position the cylinder, an elongated guide member forming part of the hammer,

a support for the hammer, two spaced removable bearings on the support through which the member extends and slides met-given direction toward and from the cylinder, saidhammer and member thereof capable of assuming a position oblique with respect tosaid direction and be withdrawn from one of said bearings and support when the other bearing is removed from the support.

4. In a jacquard mechanism, a cylinder rotatable in the mechanism, a resilient hammer to engage and position the cylinder, an elongated guide member forming part of thehammer, a support for the hammerhaving two spaced removable bearings through which the member extends and slides in a given direction toward and from the cylinder, the elongated guide being proportioned with respect to the bearings and support so that removal of each bearing from the support permits the elongated guide to be moved ill) to a position oblique with respect to said direction and be withdrawn from said support.

5. In a jacquard having a rotatable cylinder, a hammer having a shank and stem extending therefrom, a spring surrounding the stem and engaging the shank to urge the hammer toward the cylinder, a support for the hammer, a removable bearing carried by the support and surrounding the stem, a second bearing carried by the support for the stem and having a removable part normally closing the second bearing but opening the latter on one side when removed, removal of the guide for the stem and removal of said removable part of the second guide for the shank permitting the hammer to assume an oblique position with respect to its normal position whereby the stem is movable away from the support to permit removal of the hammer in a direction along the length of the cylinder.

6. In a jacquard mechanism having a rotatable cylinder, a hammer to engage and position the cylinder, an elongated guide member forming part of the hammer, a spring surrounding the member and acting to move the hammer toward the cylinder, two spaced supports for the member, a threaded guide surrounding a part of the member and removably held in one of said supports and engaging the spring, and a removable element carried by the other support to engage the member, said threaded guide and element normally causing the member to move toward and from the cylinder in a given direction, said member capable of assuming a position oblique with respect to said direction when the plug and element are removed, said member by reason of its oblique position being movable out of both supports.

'7. In a jacquard mechanism having a rotatable cylinder, a hammer to position the cylinder, an

elongated member extending from the hammer, a

compression spring surrounding the member and urging the hammer into engaging and positioning relationship with respect to the cylinder, a pair of spaced supports through which the member extends, one of said supports having a tapped hole therein of greater internal diameter than the largest transverse dimension of the member adjacent thereto, a bearing threaded into said tapped hole and having a bore therein for a part of the member, said bearing engaging the spring and movable relatively to its support to vary the pressure of the spring, a removable element forming part of the other support, said bearing and removable element assisting in guiding the hammer in a given direction toward and from the cylinder, the elongated member capable of assuming a position oblique with respect to said given direction when the bearing is removed from the first support and the element is removed from the second support by reason of the fact that the diameter of the tapped hole through which said member extends is greater than the greatest transverse dimension of the adjacent part of said member, said member by reason of its oblique position being movable out of and away from said supports.

8. In a jacquard mechanism having a rotatable cylinder, a hammer to engage and determine the angular position of the cylinder, a square shank forming part of the hammer, a cylindrical stem aligned with the shank and also forming part of the hammer, a pair of spaced supports for said hammer through one of which the shank extends and through the other of which the stem extends, a compression spring surrounding a portion of the stem and engaging the shank and exerting pressure on said hammer tending to hold the hammer in engagement with the cylinder, a removable bearing element carried by the first support along which the shank slides, the second bearing having a tapped hole therein of greater diameter than the diameter of the stem, a slide bearing threaded into said tapped hole and having a bore therein to receive the stem and along which the latter slides, the bore of the slide bearing and the removable bearing causing the hammer and the stem and the shank to move toward the cylinder in a given direction under action of the spring, said slide bearing engaging the spring and movable in the tapped hole in the direction of the length of the stem to vary the pressure exerted by the spring on the hammer, the diameter of the tapped hole being such that when the plug is removed therefrom the stem can assume a position within said tapped hole sufficiently oblique with respect to said given direction to permit removal of the shank from the first support when the removable bearing of said first support is removed.

HERBERT V. FOSTER. 

